Rachida Dati was born in Burgundy, to a Moroccan father who was a mason and an Algerian mother. For many, Rachida Dati is a model of integration. Her entire youth is marked by her determination to succeed. Second in a family of twelve children, she worked from the age of sixteen as a nursing ...
Rachida Dati was born in Burgundy, to a Moroccan father who was a mason and an Algerian mother. For many, Rachida Dati is a model of integration. Her entire youth is marked by her determination to succeed. Second in a family of twelve children, she worked from the age of sixteen as a nursing assistant to finance her studies in law and economics.
But while the young woman applies herself to her studies and invests herself wholeheartedly, she owes part of her success to the encounters that punctuate her journey. At 21, Albin Chalandon, a prominent figure of Gaullism, helps her get an internship at Elf. Simone Veil advises her to enter the National School of the Judiciary, where she is admitted based on her qualifications.
After meeting Jean-Luc Lagardère in 1990, she joins the audit department of Matra Communication, then in 1993 spends a year in London with Jacques Attali at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). In 1994, she becomes a management controller and general secretary of the urban development study office at Lyonnaise des Eaux. In 1995, she becomes a technical advisor in the legal department of the Ministry of National Education.
In 2002, Nicolas Sarkozy, then Minister of the Interior, spots her and brings her into his cabinet as a technical advisor in charge of the bill on crime prevention. In the following years, she does not leave his side. Two years later, he asks her to follow him to the Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Industry.
As spokesperson for Nicolas Sarkozy, she also advised the UMP candidate on youth and immigration issues. A symbol of the rejuvenation and feminization of the first Fillon government, the mayor of the 7th arrondissement of Paris (since March 2008) is unsurprisingly reappointed as Minister of Justice in the Fillon 2 and 3 governments. Until June 23, 2009.
Rachida Dati leads the UMP list in Île-de-France for the European elections and is elected on June 7, 2009. This leads her to leave her ministerial duties.
Rachida Dati is a member of the Montaigne Institute, the Le Siècle club, and the founder of the Club XXIe Siècle.